WestJet reports all-time record load factor

CALGARY — Numbers released Thursday show WestJet Airlines is busier than ever — great news for the Calgary-based company but not so great for travellers in search of deals.

WestJet’s traffic figures show that during the month of August, its flights took off with the lowest percentage of empty seats in the airline’s history. Load factor, an industry term used to describe the utilization of available space on an aircraft, hit a record 88.9 per cent for August — up from 83.3 per cent a year ago.

The company also broke records in July, recording a load factor of 85.3 per cent, or an additional 126,000 guests compared to July 2011.

Rival Air Canada also reported a strong month, hitting its own record high load factor of 87.9 per cent in August. In a statement, chief executive Calin Rovinescu said the results underscore Air Canada’s disciplined capacity management as well as an “industry-leading product that continues to earn our customers’ loyalty.”

Rick Erickson, an independent aviation analyst based in Calgary, said it’s been an “exceptionally good second quarter” for WestJet.

While part of that is due to the health of the Canadian economy and a strong dollar, Erickson added the airline itself deserves credit for developing a flight network that is increasingly convenient for travellers.

Earlier this year, WestJet announced a code-share agreement with South Korea’s largest airline, Korean Air, and with China Eastern Airlines, one of the largest airlines in China. Code share agreements allow travellers to more easily transfer from one airline’s network to the other’s. The deals came in addition to agreements with American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines, KLM and Korean Air.

“They’ve refined their network so that people can step off one airplane and within 40 minutes to an hour be on another plane going across the country ... Their business plan has been a very solid one,” Erickson said.

Mahmood Tejpar, owner of Marlin Travel at Marlborough Mall, said WestJet’s numbers don’t surprise him. He said travellers have a positive impression of WestJet, adding many of his clients don’t want to fly with any other airline. He also said Calgary’s growing population and healthy economy is resulting in more people taking to the skies than ever before.

However, Tejpar said passengers are no longer finding the discounts they once expected from WestJet.

“The airline’s capacities are full, and what they’re saying is, ‘If we have just five seats left, we’re not going to give them away.’ We’re going to charge you a premium price,’ ” Tejpar said. “I’ve noticed that Air Canada fares are now sometimes a little cheaper than WestJet’s are.”

Erickson agreed that WestJet has not been making as much of an effort to undercut Air Canada on prices.

“Both carriers have shown a remarkable amount of pricing integrity between the two of them. We haven’t seen as many of the deep-seated discounts as we have in past years, largely because the demand is there ... They haven’t needed to discount those seats,” he said.

WestJet spokesperson Jennifer Sanford acknowledged that over the last year, rising fuel prices and increased demand for flights have led to higher prices — especially for popular flights booked close to the departure date.

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